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March 13, 2012

News for and about language educators

Spotlight on Languages

Teen discovers subculture of serial language learners
Timothy Doner, at 16, has had an unending desire to learn new languages, including obscure tongues such as Ojibwe, Kurdish and Hausa, ever since he learned Hebrew for his bar mitzvah. He found he wasn't alone in this obsession when he started posting videos of himself speaking various languages on YouTube. One video got 10,000 views, and he found a vibrant subculture of polyglots -- people who take multilingual to the extreme. The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (3/9)

British cartoon introduces children to 1 language per episode
Judith Woods writes about sitting down to watch an episode of "The Lingo Show" with her daughter. After establishing its beginnings as a CBeebies online program, "The Lingo Show" made its broadcast debut with an episode in Mandarin. Future episodes will feature Polish, Punjabi, Spanish and other languages. The Telegraph (London) (3/13)

Technology & Trends

Disney releases 1st language learning app for iPad
Mobile application developers used a popular Disney Pixar title to create "Learn Chinese: Toy Story 3." The program allows children to learn Mandarin from some of their favorite cartoon characters. The lessons begin in English and progress to more Mandarin as the student becomes more advanced. Pronunciations also are provided. Orlando Sentinel (Fla.) (3/7)

In Montgomery County, Md., tweets are bilingual
Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland already had been providing parents with traditional forms of communication in Spanish. Now, the school district is communicating on social sites in Spanish. The Washington Post/Maryland Schools Insider (3/9)

Microsoft technology makes audio translations sound just like you
Microsoft researcher Frank Soong has developed software that could have major implications on language learning and convenience for international travelers. The program can take a person's voice and translate it into another language, while still making it sound like his or her own voice. It takes about an hour working with the program for it to start replicating your voice, Soong said. MIT Technology Review online (3/9)

Policy Watch

Mandarin teacher pursues grants to expand summer offerings
Connecticut school teacher Marilyn Guerrera has been relentless in expanding the language opportunities available to her students since arriving in America six years ago as a Taiwanese immigrant. Now, she is trying to clear several hurdles to launch a summer Mandarin program. She has sought a $10,000 grant from the Chinese government's Confucius Institute, however, finding a qualified teacher presents challenges. The Boston Globe (tiered subscription model) (3/10)

ACTFL News

ACTFL offering OPI familiarization workshops at regional conferences
ACTFL teams up with Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (NECTFL) and Southwest Conference on Language Teaching (SWCOLT) to offer ACTFL's OPI Familiarization Workshop at these regional conferences this spring. This is an introduction to the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines, the ACTFL Rating Scale, and the ACTFL OPI. This is a perfect opportunity for language teachers interested in acquiring professional development or pursuing further OPI assessment training or OPI tester certification. Space is limited and registration for each conference is required to participate. Learn more and register.

Dr. K. David Harrison to speak at ACTFL convention
ACTFL is pleased to announce that the keynote speaker for the 2012 ACTFL Annual Convention and World Languages Expo, Nov. 16 to 18 in Philadelphia, will be Dr. K. David Harrison. Dr. Harrison is a professor of linguistics at Swarthmore College and has completed extensive research on language extinction. He also co-founded and serves as director of research for the Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages, a nonprofit foundation that strives to advocate for the documentation, preservation, and revitalization of endangered languages. Be notified when convention registration opens this spring.